Sacrifice #1

Written by Sam Humphries
Art by Dalton Rose

I really do shop at one of the best comic stores in North America.  They were one of the handful of stores to sell this comic, which most shops got a couple of weeks ago.  Since we are in Canada, and our shop chose the least expensive shipping method (so they could make money selling the comic at cover price - a crazy notion, no?), it only arrived in time for sale this week, and despite the fact that first prints of this comic are commanding high prices on Ebay, they continued to sell it at cover price.  Decent people.

Anyway, this self-published comic comes from the writer of Our Love is Real, which was one of the biggest surprise comics of 2011, in terms of both its shocking subject matter (people have sex with animals, vegetables, and minerals, but not each other) and its limited press run.  Now Humphries is doing the same thing all over again, but this time with a six-issue mini-series.

Sacrifice opens as Hector escapes from a hospital, and then goes for lunch at a crappy taco joint.  Suddenly, he is transported back into the time of the Aztecs, just prior to the arrival of the Spanish.  He is found by a group of Aztecs, who plan on sacrificing him before they see the intricate tattoo on his back.  They decide they need to take him to Tenochtitlan (modern-day Mexico City) for an audience with Emperor Moctezuma.  Hector becomes the focus of a theological debate between the men who found him, supporters of the god Quetzalcoatl, while the Emperor's adviser supports Huitzilopotchli.

As the story progresses, we learn a few more things.  Hector is epileptic, and has always had a strong interest in the Aztec and their fate at Spanish hands.  Is he really traveling through time, or are these visions merely the product of his disease, a la Joan of Arc and Louis Riel?

Dalton Rose's art is very good.  I see a few influences in his work - Paul Pope, European comics, Michael Allred, and the style of the cartoon King of the Hill all mash together in his art.  The book, coloured by Pete Toms, looks vibrant and bold, with bright backgrounds.

I'm very pleased that I've got the opportunity to collect this series without having to wait for a trade.  These are some very talented people making this comic, and I hope that this fiercely independent approach to doing business is successful for Humphries.